Peter Jackson Back on The Hobbit?

Will New Line Cinema finally bury the hatchet with Peter Jackson and do what they know is right?

Will Peter Jackson get over himself, suck up the fact that he is probably owed millions of dollars more than the millions of dollars he's already been paid and work with New Line again?

Will Tolkein fanboys finally get a life and stop living in their parents basements and lighting candles next to little altars adorned with fake "rings" and pictures of Viggo Mortensen?

My guess is "No" to all three.

We reported back in February that Jackson had his panties in a bunch over an issue with New Line not paying him enough. He accused New Line of deceptive accounting practices and demanded that the company submit to an audit. When New Line told him to take a hike, Jackson sued them for fraud.

Now the rumor mill is starting to warm up again, with the possibility that Jackson might actually be considered to help out with the new Hobbit film.

Eager to move ahead with "The Hobbit," New Line has quietly been trying to mend fences with "Rings" filmmaker Peter Jackson, who has sued the company over his share of profits from the first "Rings" films. When asked if it was true that company insiders had been in talks with Jackson's reps, Shaye replied, "Yes, that's a fair statement. Notwithstanding our personal quarrels, I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in 'The Hobbit.'"

Now this doesn't mean that Jackson is going to park his ass in the directors chair and New Line is going to shower him with money and little CGI women dancing around his feet. "Creatively involved" might mean nothing more than offering his ideas on how things should be shot or staged. Or maybe he's going to be cleaning out the trash and fetching the coffee for the producers. We don't know and its too early to tell.

But hey, lets fire up that rumor mill and get the nerds a-talkin. Maybe we can start a grass-roots campaign to get Jackson the job.

Or maybe we can just wait for the Hollywood Reporter to let us know what New Line is going to do.